Set in the Antarctic, Captain Daniel Downs takes part in an epic battle as the combined forces of the American Armed Forces and the Soviet military struggle to destroy the Mental Omega superweapon as well as fight off Yuri's Epsilon forces.

"SATCOM is picking up a lot of activity sixteen klicks away from your area. Recommend you get the task force together and prepare for teleportation onto the mainland. How copy?"

"Copy that Command. We'll be moving out as soon as we can. Over and out." Putting away his radio, Captain Downs climbed into his Humvee and began driving back to base.

Since the end of the Third World War in 2020, when the Allies occupied Moscow after defeating the Soviets, Soviet Premier Romanov's advisor Yuri, who oversaw the Soviet Army's mind control division when he was twenty years old, was nowhere to be found. It wasn't until fifteen years later that American President Michael Dugan got called into a security briefing at the White House where he and his staff were told that Yuri had resurfaced and formed his army named Epsilon. Since then, the Allies participated in many successful missions against Yuri's Epsilon terrorist group around the world, including Beijing, San Francisco, and Sydney. Those missions, while victorious for the Allies, came at a staggering cost in men and materials. They had no idea how much firepower Yuri had. One of the weapons Yuri himself developed was a device called a Physic Beacon. Consisting of an antenna with two black-bat shaped wings on either side of the antenna and a giant black ball on top, this nightmarish weapon allowed Yuri to mind control either a house or city block.

Epsilon launched their first attacks on Chicago on July 4, 2022. After twenty-four hours of brutal urban combat, the terrorist army installed their first Beacon next to the Sears Tower, mind-controlling the city's inhabitants as well as an Allied base that was set up just off Lake Shore Drive. Only after six hours of fighting twelve hours later did Allied reinforcements from Canada retake Chicago and capture the Beacon in the process. The Soviets, having learned of Yuri's betrayal two years after the Third World War, conducted their own operations in China as well as their home territory of Russia, but took thousands of casualties. With the Soviets realizing that their only hope of ever defeating their former comrade would be to join with their arch-enemy, they met with the Allies in London to sign a truce. While the signing was successful, the newly-formed Soviet-Allied taskforce had to fight off Epsilon forces, who tried to kill the leaders. Even though Epsilon was unable to kill the American President and the Soviet Premier, they succeeded in killing the British Prime Minister, souring relations between the United States and the European Union, leaving only the United States and the Soviets to fight Yuri.

Now, after many hard-fought battles between 2020 and 2040, the Sino-American taskforce was finally in the Antarctic on the island of Berkner, gearing up for what should hopefully be their last battle in the war against this mind-controlling madman. Intelligence gathered from the KGB and the CIA from torturing Epsilon soldiers pointed to Yuri's headquarters in the Antarctic.

Soon, Daniel thought, Yuri shall be wiped off the face of the earth. He opened the glove compartment next to him and took out a picture of his wife, Katie and two daughters, Isabelle and Sarah. He remembered the three of them being caught under the influence of a group of five Yuri clones while out and about near Pier 39. After some concerned citizens called police to report three people with glowing red eyes and thousand yard stares, two officers showed up, immediately fell under mind control, and shot Katie, Isabelle, and Sarah dead before turning their guns on themselves. Having raced to the scene, Daniel not only found their bodies, but spotted the clones leaving a Burger Kong restaurant. Catching up to them, he pushed one of the clones to the ground.

"What did you do to my family you bastard?" screamed Daniel as he began choking one of the clones.

"Soon, only Yuri's will rule the planet. There is no more free will," said the clone as he passed out on the concrete. The other clones were quickly arrested by police as they arrived on the scene. Shaking in a fit of rage, Daniel was quickly restrained by officers, who told him to let them handle the situation. It was a devasting loss for him. Six months later, Daniel enlisted in the U.S. Army and participated in the global campaign against Yuri's Epsilon forces.

As the Humvee raced into the American base, several of the soldiers ran to greet him.

"Captain, do you have any news regarding what is across the ocean on the mainland?" asked one man.

Daniel looked at him. "I spotted some Epsilon tanks rolling around out on the mainland. Looks like Yuri is close by."

"Yuri better be out here," exclaimed another soldier. "We've lost too many of our comrades in the process."

Suddenly, the radio squawked again. This time, it was from their forward observer, which Daniel had sent out two hours ago on a recon mission over on the mainland.

"Captain, this is Black Sand Two here. I've got bad news, said the observer. "Seems we're detecting an unknown high energy reading out here. Whatever is lurking over here, it is not good nor did Command make any mention of it. We probably should be going in right about now. I just got word from the Soviets: They will be sending ten of their helicopters to assist us in the coming battle."

"About damn time!" exclaimed Daniel. Turning to his people, he shouted, "Ok everyone! This is it! We take out Yuri as well as his dirty mind-controlling Epsilon forces, we free our people from this madman! LET'S ROLL!" Announcements for the Americans to get ready for combat were relayed over the loudspeakers as Daniel spoke into his radio to his recon observer.

"This is Black Sand Two, looks like something is coming my way. Hang…." The line quickly went dead, frustrating Daniel. There goes my eye on the ground, he thought.

Heading to their barracks, soldiers donned winter camouflage uniforms, gloves, and face masks. Grabbing their weapons and ammunition off the tables, what remained of the men and women of the American military took one last look around.

"I am sure going to miss this place," said Sergeant Miles.

"Me too man. We had a lot of fun here," replied Second Lieutenant Alice. "I can't wait to go home and see my family. I actually used a 3d printer to make a toy train set for my five-year-old son" The soldiers, having readied their winter gear and weapons, boarded their armored personnel carriers while tank crews, four at a time, climbed into their tanks, the last man manning the machine gun on top.

The tanks and armored personnel carriers began lining up four at a time side by side. In the center of the military base was the crown jewel of Allied forces, the Chronosphere, a blue dome-shaped device that emitted a glowing half-dome of light capable of transporting vehicles through time and space to different locations around the world.

With their observer hiding out on the mainland, Daniel hoped he could get there in time before the observer was spotted by enemy forces. He boarded an IFV alongside three other soldiers. Command had also ordered the destruction of a device called the Mental Omega. Rumor had that if activated, the device could easily mind-control the entire world. As the Chronosphere in the Antarctic base powered up, a bright white light emitted from the superweapon, a bright white half-dome engulfed the four vehicles, and a noise equivalent to a jet engine increasing in pitch. In the IFV, Daniel noticed one of the soldiers feeling nauseous. He offered the man a trash bag, which the soldier promptly used. Through the windows, a bright white flash shone through, temporarily blinding the soldiers. In the span of a few seconds, the dome and the vehicles disappeared. The strike force was teleported across the ocean onto the Antarctic mainland itself, allowing the Americans to quickly gain the element of surprise.

The bright white half-dome appeared behind the Epsilon vehicles. Out of the portal came the tanks followed by the IFVs. The American armored column noticed five Epsilon tanks out on patrol.

"Tank identified!" yelled the gunner of one of the tanks, his targeting scope locking onto one of Epsilon's tanks.

"Fire!" shouted the commander, peering through the periscope.

The American vehicles opened fire, destroying the Epsilon patrol. Soldiers streamed out of their transports, armed with rifles and missile launchers. They took cover behind their vehicles and started shooting at more enemy tanks that were sent to defend their base as alarms rang out, alerting Epsilon forces to the Americans' positions. Daniel and his four-man squad took up position behind a snowbank. Daniel brought out his sniper rifle and fired at several enemy tanks, the high-powered rounds smashing through the metal plating and into the interior of the vehicle. Daniel then pulled out his radio.

"This is U.S. Army Captain Daniel Downs to Admiral Thomas Bosch of the USS Enterprise. What's your status on the Soviet helicopter squadron?"

"Captain, the squadron is ready to commence their attack and provide air support," said Admiral Bosch.

"Order them to launch now. We are taking casualties from Epsilon forces," said Daniel as more explosions occurred near him.

"Roger that Captain. We'll be sending those units out immediately." As the Soviet pilots and their gunners climbed aboard their choppers and prepared for take-off, they knew that time was of the essence. If they did not arrive in time to help the Americans, the armored division would be soon be destroyed by Yuri's forces. The helicopter squadron lifted off the deck of the carrier and sped towards the mainland.

"Captain Downs, this is Senior Sergeant Elena Frolova of the 19th Airborne Squadron. We are coming in hot. Get your heads down boys." Within minutes, the Soviet helicopters roared overhead, the sound of their blades piercing the air. As the helicopters came within twenty feet of the enemy, the gunners locked onto the enemy.

"Gunner, two tanks at your eleven o'clock." As the gunner pressed the trigger on his joystick, the chopper shook violently as bullets went into the Epsilon vehicles, punching out holes and setting the vehicle ablaze.

On the ground, Epsilon tank drivers took notice of the combined firepower and began pulling out of the area towards their base, the loud roar of the engines sounding across the battlefield. The turrets on the tanks swiveled a hundred and eighty degrees to the rear, their guns continually firing at the American tanks that were chasing after them.

"Yuri, we are outnumbered! We need more support!" an Epsilon tank driver yelled as fuel began leaking into the crew compartment.

"No you worthless piles of garbage. You have a job to do and you are going to do it right!" yelled Yuri, looking over a holographic projection of the on-going battle in his Antarctic command center. He could hear the battle raging on outside and knew that he needed to buy his engineers ten minutes to arm and activate the Mental Omega.

He turning to one of his clones, he said, "Proselyte, I need you to start the timer on my masterpiece now. We cannot afford to let the Soviets and the Allies cripple my plans any longer. This needs to end now."

"Roger that Yuri Prime." The clone immediately went into a tunnel connecting the command center with the Mental Omega superweapon. Inside the superweapon were six men seated at their workstations preparing to bring the weapon online. The Yuri clone immediately ordered that Mental Omega be switched on and made ready to activate. While the technicians began typing in commands, lights in the room flickered as the machine began to power up. In a nearby underground hangar, a large airship began preparing for take-off, its crew charging the weapons and getting ready for the fight.

"Kick the tires and light the fire!" shouted one Epsilon pilot as he and his co-pilot went through the final checklist. Five minutes later, the hangar doors above them opened, letting in cold air and light.

Outside in the frozen tundra, what was left of the Epsilon armored division continued falling back towards the Epsilon headquarters, tank treads kicking up snow. The American tanks and infantry quickly followed and pursuit.

"Papa Bear, the enemy is retreating but we are still taking heavy losses," Daniel spoke into his radio. "Requesting permission to teleport in more troops, over."

As more American tanks teleported in across the ocean, the remaining Epsilon defenders decided to hold their ground at the front gate, determined to make their last stand at the gates. This forced the Americans and Soviets to fight for every inch, incurring heavy losses on both sides as tanks blew out each other's turrets.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Chopper Zero-Six Three, we are hit," yelled a Soviet pilot. Three helicopters spun out of control and crashed into the snow from being hit in the tail rotor by machine guns coming from the enemy tanks. Yuri clones that had just gotten out of bed and had not put on their mind-control implants were cut down by the soldiers as soon as the gate opened, unable to mind-control a single soldier.

"Awesome! Just like shooting targets at a firing range!" exclaimed one soldier, who had pumped a clone with a burst from his rifle.

"Just another good day at the office, am I right?!" shouted another. Unfortunately for him, another clone that had just come out of the barracks with a metal headband on his head. Putting both of his hands on his headband, the clone looked directly at the American soldier. Seconds later, the soldier, who had now been fighting alongside his fellow Americans, turned on them, eyes glowing bright red, shouting, "I am Yuri! You will obey me!" He sprayed bullets everywhere, killing two of his squad mates and wounding three others before he was shot dead by Daniel who had seen the carnage. Immediately, he took aim at the clone and took him out with a shot to the head. Eventually, what remained of Epsilon's tanks were destroyed.

"Lorenzo, place some demolition charges on the gate," said Daniel, reloading his sniper rifle. Lorenzo placed five plastic explosives on different parts of the gate, then stepped back and took out his detonator. Clicking the button, the explosives tore the gate apart, blowing a gaping hole in it.

"Come on men! The entrance is cleared! Move up! Into the base!" yelled Daniel as he and what remained of the strike force entered the Epsilon base. Once inside though, the soldiers suddenly saw landmines blocking their path.

"Captain, looks like Yuri's been busy," said Alice as she brought out her mine detector. She swept the ground in front of her in a wide, sweeping motion. Eventually, Alice could pick out more than five hundred landmines that had been laid by Epsilon forces. After what seemed like five minutes, Alice and Miles had finished disarming all the mines.

"Alright everyone," said Daniel, looking around. "We better get a move on. Yuri won't wait for us." The soldiers picked up their gear and moved on. Eventually, they arrived at the Mental Omega superweapon.

Looking at the superweapon, which was as big as a twenty-story sky-scraper, Daniel and the soldiers stood in awe and horror. The superweapon consisted of a large circular tower surrounded by six large blades with a huge purple ball of light suspended in the middle. The Mental Omega was essentially Yuri's easiest way of controlling the planet. As the blades began spinning and whining like a jet engine in pitch, the purple ball began to slowly vibrate.

"Holy crap! Captain, Looks like Mental Omega already powering up! We need to target and destroy the weapon now!" Daniel knew from the specs Command had supplied earlier to both the Allies and the Soviets that Yuri only needed ten minutes for his device to fully charge and power up. During this time, the weapon was vulnerable to attack. The Americans and the Soviets only had five minutes left to take down the Mental Omega.

"Comrade, what is going with the Mental Omega device?" asked Elena.

"It's continuing to power up. You and what remains of your squadron need to hit it now!" yelled Daniel.

As the seven helicopters began opening fire, parts of the Mental Omega began falling off. Three of the blades fell apart and smashed into the ground. All was going well, thought Daniel. Soon, this war will be finally over and we can go home and see our families.

Suddenly, the ground behind the strike team opened. From the ground rose the Epsilon aerial fortress, Irkalla. Started in secret by Yuri himself prior to the conclusion of the Third World War in the Antarctic, this mobile airship of mass destruction was a gigantic floating disc, ten feet in diameter, filled with bulletproof windows along the outside, housing ten jet engines, all encased in a special metal alloy, which lined the outer edges of the underside of the airship. Along its underbelly in the center were six anti-aircraft laser cannons along with six air-to-ground railguns, all spread out in a spiraling alternating pattern. Command had no knowledge of this massive airship of death that had just now popped up from under the earth. Inside the warship, Yuri was sitting in the commander's chair, giving his final speech to his enemies via headset.

"American and Soviet soldiers," he said. "You have nowhere to run. Your minds belong to me. There is no more free will, only MY will! Prepare for your destruction." Satisfied with his short speech, Yuri turned to his soldiers manning the turrets.

"All batteries, you are cleared to engage our Capitalist and Communist enemies. Show them the true meaning of terror." At this, the gunners trained their railgun turrets on the soldiers and tanks below them while the computers targeted the helicopters for the lasers.

"What the hell is that?!" screamed an American soldier as he looked on at Irkalla in horror.

"I don't know but it looks like it wants us for dinner for sure!" shouted Sergeant Miles.

Daniel, knowing that time was running out, spoke into his radio.

"I want half of our units continuing their assault on the Mental Omega. Everyone else, do what you can against Irkalla." Wasting no time in protecting the superweapon, the large aircraft returned fire. As the Americans dove for cover behind whatever they could find, Elena and her helicopter squadron began their assault on Irkalla itself.

"This Echo Five-One. Airborne target in range. Five meters, all gunners, focus your fire on the railguns themselves. All pilots, aim your missiles at the windows." As the helicopters fired on Irkalla, various pieces of the airship began breaking off. Pieces of the railgun broke off and fell to the ground, while shards of glass broke off the various window panes on Irkalla. On the ground, Daniel took aim with his rifle at the window where Yuri was standing and fired. The bullet, having been fired out of the barrel, flew towards Yuri, only to be destroyed upon hitting the bulletproof glass. Suddenly, Daniel and his men disappeared in clouds of red gas as shots from the railguns pierced their soft flesh. The tanks that turned their guns on Irkalla burst into flames as the airship's railguns tore into them like a knife through butter, leaving only red-stained pieces of metal. The lasers detonated the weapons on the helicopters, sending them plummeting to the ground. Having destroyed the taskforce, the Mental Omega device fully powered up with five seconds left as the remaining three blades begin spinning faster and faster. The purple ball of light started pulsating in the middle as the sky began to darken. The Mental Omega activated as the purple ball began rapidly expanding in all directions, the remaining blades broke off as the ball transformed into a shockwave which spread across the globe.

As continents around the world fell under control of Yuri's mind control, it seemed like all was lost. Yuri had finally dominated the world. Or has he?

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